Etsy Faves

banner design by kathleen losche

Blythe Dolls

November 2009

November 23, 2009

It's 3:30 am and I won't mention the poor sweet girl asleep next to me who just got sick all over her bed (please aim away from the computer, please aim away from the computer.) Naturally, I'm wide awake and decided to see what I could find at the Tate. I found some lovely Warhol Christmas cards, so wait one second while I ask Husband if we can use them. Honey? Nudge. "Can I order some Christmas cards from a museum store?" Answer: umm hummm, grunt, turn over (removing the darned covers with him.) YES! With all of you as my witnesses. And here's a cool coffee mug of the Tate Liverpool.

I've had my eye on coffee mugs lately because last week Husband arrived home with a horrific set of mugs from WAL-MART with autumn foliage or fruit (or some crap - I'm sure you get the picutre) on them. I immediately placed them into the GoodWill box but he found them, got mad, and we wound up in an argument becuase they are "gorgeous" and I clearly have no taste. I swear to you, he called them gorgeous. Wait, maybe they're online and I can receive a sympathy comment or two. Oh dear, here they are. And God help me, apparently he could have bought them as a 16 piece dinnerware set.

Ok, back to the Tate. Look at the Artist's Techniques and Methods course. For just 20 quid (I can't figure out how to do pound sign at this hour) you get unlimited access, assignments, video tutorials and can post your art to get critiqued (oh yeah, fun. Posting art at the Tate Modern sounds sooooo painless. Root canal, anyone?) The courses look wonderful, though, and check out the kid's section because it almost (like in a distant galaxy kind of almost) makes home schooling look tempting.

November 15, 2009

It's been rainy here this weekend, perfect for snuggling up in front of the fire and knitting. I thought I'd show you my knitting bag, which I bought in Ireland last year. The cheerful colors and dancing stars always brighten my day, an important quality in a knitting bag. I'm concentrating on small inspirations at the moment and studying my environment to make sure I love the objects in my home and that I have lots of things that I call "smilers" (things that make me smile.) If I'm not careful, I find that occasionally I house something that is pretty mediocre and is taking up space. Boo to mediocrity! Fortunately, I find that most things I have really are smilers or they have a good story attached to them.

An Alexander Girard pillow that I have, ready to be put on our couch when Junior stops using Sharpies to draw pirate patches on his eye. A real smiler that is held hostage in my closet for the moment.

Life's too short to have ugly stuff, and while not everyone likes my taste (yes blogreaders, it's true), I feel lucky to know what I love and to do so unapologetically. It's also important not to become immune to the objects in your home; if something has ceased giving you pleasure when you see it, tuck it away and try again in a month...it's like free shopping! Sometimes my need for fun things causes conflict with Husband, though, like when our super boring maroon can opener broke and I created this. Oh man, the whining - you'd think I had purchased my our dream coffee table:

Here's what I think about Husband: Secretly he's psyched to have a wife who wants to reupholster our couch in lavender and silver velvet, he just can't admit it. It's a street cred thing: The more he begs for dark wood paneling and matching furniture sets flanked by Queen Ann end tables, the more fantastic our surroundings become, wink wink.

And finally, speaking of smilers, I'm passionately in love with Juniorette's coat. I wonder if I could squeeze into the girl's size 16 - who cares if the sleeves are halfway up my arms and I can't button it, right? I also love how she wore her polka dotted skirt so it would "match" her coat. The kid clearly knows right from wrong and the value of a smiler, and I'm awfully proud of her for it.

November 12, 2009

In the quiet of a teacher's studio, a fledgling painter studies her work. The oil paints are magic, how they all come together to create shimmers and tones of color. The quiet is stunning after days of sick children mimicking Cirque de Soleil performers and she appreciates the sun on her face and the mug of peppermint tea the teacher has placed by her palette. Some people long for diamonds or large houses but the student would be content with moments like this scattered throughout her life. (Compare with Junior's latest activity, found on Twitter.)

November 08, 2009

In a house that we don't own is a whitewashed knitting room with a little yellow davenport. There is a table in front for tea and a side table with a pretty lamp. The knitter can see into the vegetable garden and to the goat peeing on the tire of a BMW 7 series (Husband's gritting my teeth fantasy sans the goat.) Ah...where would we be if we didn't have dreams? I actually got some lovely dream time today as I sipped my coffee and read the New York Times, where I spotted this object d'art. True, Junior did pull what Husband calls a Wobbler because his sister forcibly removed a Tinkerbell Pez dispenser from his fist but I handed him a marker, the sports section and an apple muffin and all was peaceful and dreamy at Casapinka.